Instant Reactions
by Love From A Muggle
Summary: As the clock strikes midnight truths are revealed causing instant reactions. Written for Hogwarts Online Prompt of the day. Some Violence. DG/DM with a twist.*in progress*
1. Take me or leave me

Written for Hogwarts Online Prompt of the day for July 2nd: "Take me or leave me"

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Author's note: Some violence/ crude talking. Completely different than what I normally write, but I had to write it like this when I wrote the prompt of the day.

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She waited for him as the clock stroke midnight. Her foot tapped on the cold marble floor in the kitchen where she sat. He was late. Again. Her bags were packed, and ready to go if he confessed to where he really was. 'Don't worry I'll be working late tonight.' Her mind raced with the note he left her. For more than a fortnight the notes happened. She had the stack of notes on the table next to her dry cup of tea. Daphne Greengrass looked up as she heard him Apparate home. He stumbled to the sink grabbed a dirty glass, looked down at it, threw it to the floor and grabbed a clean glass from the cupboard as the other shattered.

"Ahem," she said standing up. Draco Malfoy turned around. He didn't know she was standing there. "Are you going to clean up that mess?" Daphne ordered.

"No, I'm going to let the house elf do it. Where is he?" Draco's breath reeked of alcohol. She assumed he had been drinking bourbon at 'work'.

"I dismissed him," Daphne said. Draco's cold grey eyes stared down at her. " You refuse to give up drinking and you have been lying for the past two weeks. I don't have the time to handle the emotions anymore. All the empty promises. What about Paris? You've been promising to take me there every weekend since we've been together, but you bailed for that vile drink."

"Take me or leave me as I am." Draco replied. "I change for no one," he looked at the empty glass to which he was about to take a sip out of. He then turned back to the sink, and turned on the cold water. Pouring a glass he turned off the water and sipped it before turning back to Daphne.

"I'm going to stay with Blaise," Daphne informed him.

"Excuse me?" Draco's free hand clenched to a fist.

"I've been spending time with him since you've been gone. He pays attention to me. He cares for me. He knows how to treat a lady right." Daphne stood up, straightened up her long grey dress and looked at Draco.

"So that's who you've been sleeping around with," Draco snorted. Daphne looked at him. "That's right. I'm not as dumb as you think I am. I too have been playing you," Draco confessed.

"With who? And how did you find out?"

"Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin remember? I have my ways. I'm a very powerful man Daphne," Draco said. Daphne growled at him licking her lips against the dark red lipstick.

"Who have you been shacking up with?" She demanded again.

" Your sister," Draco said with out looking at her. He knew her cheeks were red. She always did that when she was angry. "She's always at the same bars I'm at. No wonder your parents paid me to spend time with her. They didn't want us together. That's why I've been gone. They didn't think you were good enough for me," Draco confessed.

Silence snaked in between them as Daphne took in what Draco said. She looked at him, walked up to him and slapped him on the face leaving a mark. She reached up again to slap the other cheek when Draco threw the glass down by her feet, and grabbed for her arm.

"You think I'm that much of a monster? Idiot girl. Your sister has been so kind to me. I never took money from your parents. We were set up the weekend you claimed to be on a work retreat. I knew you were with Blaise, I had you followed. I only pretended to play along with your little mind games. My father's name is still feared even if he is in prison. He still has a lot of respect when one knows where to look," Draco spat. "Why do you think I started drinking? I knew you were screwing around, I knew you would leave me. Hell, I didn't want to be with you in the first place, but when you told me you were pregnant, I couldn't leave you. Now that you aren't really pregnant I can leave you. I'm free to be with your sister," Draco said releasing his grip on her arm and letting go.

Daphne stood there frozen. He had figured out she was lying to him this whole time. She quickly scanned her room in her mind. The hidden bottle of Firewhiskey was in their bathroom they shared under the sink. He had found it. She thought he would never look there.

"You prat. I can't believe you would do something like this," Daphne said nursing her arm with her left hand.

"Oh, shut up. You and your sister have never been close. She's hated you from the moment you befriended that witch Pansy. Pansy was always horrible to Astoria, but you never took notice. And when you finally did, you turned on your sister and stood up for Pansy, " He paused knowing his words etched in her mind as she remembered the day the Slytherins turned on each other.

An ear piercing screech filled the Slytherin common room as the whole room turned to the girl's dormitory yells filled the air. Pansy Parkinson flew down the stairs two at a time and ran towards Astoria. She slapped the girl square in the face.

"How dare you mess around with Draco," Pansy said. Astoria stumbled backwards as she fell onto the couch. Daphne watched coming down from the dormitory un-noticed by the others. She slid into the armchair by the fire place. Her work was done. She tricked Pansy into thinking that Astoria had slept with Draco. Payback was what Daphne wanted for her sister for being their parents favorite child. Which is why she lied to Pansy. Every eye reached the two girls as Draco walked up to Astoria. He helped her up, and stood in front of her.

"Mess with her again and you'll mess with me," Draco demanded. He glared in Daphne's direction knowing full well what Daphne had done. She had always been easy to read.

"You remember that fateful day your sister stopped talking to you don't you," Draco said bringing Daphne back from her thoughts. "How in the bloody hell we got together, I don't know. I must have been really drunk that night to sleep with you, Then you cooked up the plan of you being pregnant just so you can keep me. I know it was you who had a crush on me. Not Pansy. She never liked me. Never was my type,"

"Leave me the fuck alone Malfoy. Don't ever talk to me again. I don't care what you do to my sister, but never talk to me again. You have been a thorn in my eye since you started lying to me," Daphne said grabbing her bags.

"Don't worry you won't get an invitation to your sister's wedding," Draco let out before she left.

"A what?"

"That's right. Your sisters wedding," Draco knew the truth stabbed her in the heart. She glared at him, grabbed her wand with her free hand and apparated(Apparated) leaving him alone.

Author's note: This is really different than what I normally write. I saw the prompt and thought of this right away. Please read and review!


	2. Bloody hell and forgive me

Written for the prompt of the day 10, July 2010

Prompt: "bloody hell" and "forgive me"

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

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He walked into the living room of Astoria's flat. She was waiting for him on the couch in front of the fire.

"Well?" She demanded standing up, not even bothering to go over to him.

"It's done. You can go home to your father now. You won't have to worry about me anymore," Draco said putting his hands in the pockets of his suit jacket.

"No, Draco it's not done. There's more that Father didn't tell me." She held out her hand. In it held a crumpled piece of parchment. Draco snatched it out of her hands. She flinched as he did so. His eyes grew angry as he read the note from her father. He crumpled it up out of anger and threw it in the fire.

"Bloody Hell,Astoria. I only lied to your sister about us getting married so she can leave me alone. What more do you want from me?" Draco shouted. He slammed his hand against the wall making a hole. Pulling his hand out from the hole he looked at Astoria.

"Forgive me Draco. I had no idea this is what Father wanted," She begged. She flinched again as he walked closer to her.

"I want money. This time I want money to be married to you. I want 250 Galleons a year as long as we're married. This is taking away my freedom to be with other girls." Draco insisted.

"You think I like this Draco? Hell, I was ready to start dating other men. Now, I'm stuck with you!" She spat in his face. Draco wiped the spit from his face with his hurt wrist.

"Never do that again," Draco ordered glaring at her.

"Well I don't think it's fair, She whined.

"Neither do I, but being pure-bloods it is the only thing we can do. Please our fathers even if we don't want to be married," Draco said calming down. He crossed his arms against his chest.

"I had hoped to marry out of love. Not because I was being forced to," Astoria whispered as she sank down on the couch. She placed her head in her knees and started crying.

"I'm not too happy about this either, Astoria. I can promise you this. I won't be horrible to you. I was only horrible to your sister to get her off my back. Well that, and I knew she was cheating with me with Blaise," Draco offered.

"So we'll pretend to be in love around others, but at home we won't be in love?" Astoria said looking up. Her eyes were red from crying. Tear marks led trails on her cheeks. Draco felt a ping in his heart. He felt bad for the woman before him. She was young, she was beautiful, and she could have anyone she wanted. But she was stuck with him for the rest of their lives.

"I still think your father should pay me every year. That way it'll save both our reputations. The only way we can get through this is if you and I cooperate," Draco admitted. He had always been one for never getting along with anyone. Crabbe and Goyle were his sidekicks so to speak. He never really had any true friends. Draco liked it that way, but sometimes it was lonely.

She nodded in agreement, "I agree. We'll have to get married. I have one request."

"Yes?"

"I want to get married in the fall. In October. I know father wants us to be married by the end of summer, but I had always pictured a Fall wedding. I can't stand the thought of getting married in the summer. It is way too hot then," she said. He looked at her confused for a moment. Then he saw Astoria as a little girl sitting in front of him. It had been something she had wanted ever since she was young. He blinked and the real Astoria sat before him once more.

"I can live with that. That'll give me plenty of time to prepare myself. Shall we go to your house first, or to mother's house?" Draco suggested.

"Let's go to your mother. I'm still trying to think of how to tell Father I agree," Astoria said.

"Why?" He asked her.

"Because I had yelled at him in a rather nasty Howler while you were gone. I told him I hated him and would never forgive him for this," Astoria admitted. Draco glared at her.

"You idiot. You could have possibly ruined things for me with your father, you know," Draco said almost shouting at her.

"Oh, shut up! You will get your damn money. Don't you worry about that," she said standing up meeting his height.

"You are going to be one difficult woman to live with. And I thought my mother was bad," Draco breathed in her face. She could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Oh yes, that is another thing. No drinking when you are with me," she demanded.

"What the hell?" he blurted out.

"I can't stand drinking. I've seen how my sister is. She turns evil. Alcohol makes people evil, My father hit my mum once because of the poison," she said as her eyes grew sad again.

" I'll have my one glass of Firewhiskey if I want to at night. I won't get drunk again. I never much liked it. I only did that to make your sister mad."

"Fine. I'll agree to that," she said realizing he wasn't giving up.

"Shall we go see my mother then?" Draco didn't care that it was after midnight. He knew she'd still be up. She never slept anymore anyways.

"Don't you want to wait till morning?" Astoria yawned. He groaned.

"Fine. We'll go first thing after breakfast," Draco said frustrated.

He placed his hand out for her to shake it. To finish the deal their fathers cooked up. She shook his hand. He noted that it was sweaty because she was nervous. He wiped his hand on the suit jacket, and looked at her. Not even saying goodbye, they left to their separate bedrooms for the night. Draco fell asleep listening to her sobbing in her room.

Author's note: (Tat1312 I did it right J, anywho: In my stories Draco will always wear a black suit because that is what he wears in the movie. I can't picture him in anything but a black suit or a grey suit. )


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